Family Dynamics
Particulars of family history
-
assimilation
Stories about family members who de-emphasized their Jewishness to fit more easily in the prevailing culture.
-
family secret
Stories that were once not spoken of. Now the truth comes out.
- religious identity
- heritage
-
nationality & citizenship
Family members gained and lost citizenship rights in their native lands. After emigration, they sought naturalization in the U.S. and elsewhere.
- name change
-
ancestral town
The original communities in which our ancestors lived
- residence
-
surname origin
The derivation of family surnames
- adoption
- cousins & kinship
- famous relative
- illegitimacy
- lineage
- orphan
- intermarriage
- estrangement
-
blended family
Step family relationships can be complex
- divorce
-
generational
Continuities and conflicts between family generations
- widow
- family ties